The present invention relates to control systems for electrical devices, in particular, electrical devices such as lighting and motor controls, for example, motors for controlling equipment such as fans and window shades, as well as other electrical device loads. In particular, the present invention is directed to the control of systems operating electrical device load, and in particular, electrical device loads which are controllable from more than one location. For example, the present invention is directed to a system for controlling electrical device loads such as room lighting, ceiling fans and window shades from multiple control locations such as wall mounted keyboards, and which allows the synchronized tracking of sequences of operations of the electrical device loads from the multiple control locations. For example, according to the present invention, if at one control location a single control button can control a sequence of operations of an electrical device, the present invention allows that sequence of operation to be tracked from other control locations.
In the prior art, it is known to have lighting systems which have centralized controllers for controlling the operation of the lighting systems. For example, in large building structures, e.g., large residences, with large numbers of rooms, without such a centralized lighting control system, a substantial amount of time would be expended in determining whether the lights in various rooms are on or off and in turning such lights off. In addition, the unnecessary lighting of rooms will cause a waste of energy and money. Accordingly, systems have been developed to control lighting in structures from central or predefined locations in the structure. Some of these systems use hard wired control wiring to control the various lighting controls located in the building. Others use radio frequency or other types of controls for example, power line carriers, to provide the control information to the lighting controls. Such systems are particularly suited to retrofitting in existing structures, but are even desirable in new construction because the hard control wiring in large structures is often very complex. Further, some of these systems may use combinations of these control schemes. In addition, loads other than lighting can be controlled such as security systems, audio-visual systems, ceiling fans, air conditioning and heating and ventilating systems, window shades and other window fixtures, etc.
In these systems, if a particular control, for example, a keypad at a first location includes an actuator which operates according to a sequence, for example, where each actuation of the actuator causes the load to cycle to a different operational state, for example, in the case of a lamp, the sequence may include operational states (also called presets) including 100% intensity, 75% intensity, 50% intensity, 25% intensity and Off, the other controls in the system controlling the same electrical load may not track the sequence controlled by the first device. Sequences are often used, because the alternative, individual buttons for each preset, would entail too many buttons and proves both intimidating to use and aesthetically unpleasing. As an example, if the first keypad has been sequenced such that a lighting load is at 25% intensity, the next step or preset in the sequence would be 0% intensity or Off. However, if the user is at another location which controls the same lamp load, the control at the second location will not track that the next state in the sequence should be Off, i.e., that the next actuation of the control at the second location should turn the lamp Off. In addition, the control actuators often include visual indicators such as LED displays to indicate the current status of the controlled electrical device. Although the preset status of the controlled electrical device may be indicated at the first location from which the electrical device was controlled, the second device will not show the correct status.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical device control system wherein electrical devices are controllable from multiple locations and wherein the electrical devices are operated through a sequence of preset steps such that the sequence is tracked at any of the control locations.
An example of the problems of the prior art system are shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1, comprising panels 1-1 to 1-5, shows the prior art systems fail to track, at multiple locations, the states of an electrical device which undergoes a sequence of steps. In FIG. 1, window shades are being controlled from two locations, control station 1 and control station 2. Control station 1 includes a sequence button which sequences through a series of steps for each depression of the button. For the first depression of the button the window shade is raised. The next actuation of the button stops the window shade. The third actuation of the button lowers the shade and the fourth actuation stops the shade. Thus, the sequence is raise, stop, lower, stop, looping back to the first step after the last step.
Control station 2 also has a series of buttons but it includes a raise/stop button and a lower/stop button, not a sequence button, in the illustrated embodiment, though it could also include a sequence button and would suffer from the same problems. When the raise/stop button is depressed, depending on the current state of operation, the window shade will either raise or stop. For the lower/stop button, depending on the current state of operation, the window shade will either lower or stop. For example, if the window shade is currently lowering, when the lower/stop button is depressed, the window shade will stop.
Assume for the purposes of this example that the sequence button of control station 1 had been pressed twice to raise and stop the shade. Thus, the sequence is current in step 2 and the window shade is stopped. At the control station 2, the lower/stop button is then depressed to lower the shades until they stop. This is indicated by panel 1-2 of FIG. 1.
As shown in panel 1-3, in response to the actuation of the lower/stop button, the shades lower and stop once they are fully closed. Therefore the current state of the window shades is now that they are stopped. At control station 1, the sequence remains in step 2. However, the window shades are fully lowered at this point because of the operation performed at control station 2.
Accordingly, as shown by panel 1-3, although the shades are now fully lowered and stopped, the sequence status at control station 1 is that the sequence is now in step 2. If the user presses the sequence button at control station (panel 1-4), because the sequence is in step 2, the sequence will cycle to step 3 which is to lower the shades. Because the shades are already closed, however, the depression of the sequence button at control station 1 has no effect, as indicated in panel 1-5 of FIG. 1. The shade does not move because the next step in the sequence is step 3, to lower the shade. Therefore, depressing of the sequence button does not cause the shades to rise, as the user expects, because they are in the fully lowered state, and the sequence stays in step 3. The user would be required to press the button two mores times (stop and raise) before the shades will be raised.
Accordingly, the prior art system suffers from a deficiency in that the sequence of steps is not tracked at a first location when a change in the controlled electrical device status is made at a second location.
FIG. 2 comprising Panels 2-1 to 2-5 shows another prior art example directed to a so-called “art gallery”. For the purposes of the example, assume that there are a number of art works A-E on an art tour in a building. It is desired that when a particular artwork in the tour is approached, a tour guide can turn on a light to illuminate the particular piece of art. Assume that a control station 1 is provided which has a sequence button which allows the tour guide to sequence the lamps at each of the art works by each depression of the button or automatically via a timer operation, with a predefined amount of time allowed at each artwork. Also provided at each art work are toggle buttons to turn on/off the lamp at the particular art work. Assume that the tour guide has been giving the tour using the sequence button. The tour is now at art C (step 3) of the sequence and the zone 3 light is on. This is shown in panel 2-1 of FIG. 2.
At panel 2-2, the guide wishes to go back to art B. He therefore presses the toggle button at art C to turn off the zone 3 light. Then the toggle button at art work B is pressed to turn on the zone 2 light. The sequence remains in step 3 but the tour guide is now at art B. As shown in panel 2-3, the guide is presenting the art work at B again and the zone 2 light on. The sequence button remains in step 3 as shown, however, see panel 2-3.
Panel 2-4, the guide wishes to resume the tour and presses the sequence button to go to the next step. Because the tour is at art work B, the guide expects the light at art C to turn on. However, as shown by panel 2-5, the lighting advances to art D and the zone 4 light turns on. Meanwhile, the tour is at art C and the art is not illuminated. The reason for this operation is that although the tour guide was at art work B and wanted again to go to art work C, the controller, as controlled by the control station 1 sequence, was still in step 3 (Art C). It did not track the change from art work C back to artwork B. Accordingly, because the sequence was in step 3, the next step in the sequence in step 4, art work D, which is not where the tour guide wanted to be.
FIG. 3 shows one further example of the problem presented by the prior art. In FIG. 3, there are two ceiling fans controlled by two control stations, control station 1 and control station 2. At control station 1, a sequence button is provided which sequences the fans through high, medium, low and off. At control station 2, a fan speed control comprising a plurality of individual buttons, one for high, medium, low and off is provided. As shown in panel 3-1 of FIG. 3, the sequence button at control station 1 has been pressed twice to set the fans at medium speed. Thus, the sequence is in step 2 (medium).
As shown in panel 3-2, at the control station 2, a button is pressed to turn the fans to off.
As shown in panel 3-3, the fans turn to off and stop rotation. The sequence remains in step 2 meaning that the sequence is in medium speed, when in fact, the fans have been turned off as shown by the LED display at control station 2 in panel 3-3. Accordingly, in addition to the sequence being in step 2 (medium speed) when in fact the fans are off, and the system should be in step 4 of the sequence, the LED display at the two control stations are inconsistent. At control station 1, the sequence control indicates that the fan is on whereas control station 2 correctly indicates that the fan is off.
In panel 3-4, the sequence button is again depressed at control station 1. Because the fans are off, the user thinks the fans will turn on to high, the next and first step in the sequence. As shown in panel 3-5, in fact, because the sequence is still in step 2 (medium speed), the fan cycles to low speed, which was not the action that the user expected.
The above examples show the problems inherent in the prior art systems which do not allow tracking of sequences of presets.
Although there are means using conditional logic (programs using “if-then” statements) to solve the above problems, the conditional logic approach is highly complex and requires large amounts of programming time and often must be preprogrammed whenever there is a change in the size of the system, i.e., when additional electrical devices are added to the system.
It is accordingly desirable to be able to provide a system which allows for tracking of sequences of operation of electrical load device that is simple to implement and that will automatically expand as the system expands.